ISSF Junior World Cup Rifle / Pistol / Shotgun · Sydney, AUS

The young Chinese shooter ruled the 10m Air Rifle Men Junior event at the end of a tight duel with Hungary’s 18-year-old Zalan Pekler, who eventually finished with the silver medal around his neck. The podium was completed by India’s Arjun Babuta in 3rd place.

The opening event of the ISSF Junior World Cup in Sydney (AUS) crowned People’s Republic of China’s Liu Yuqi with the first international gold medal of his career.

The 16-year-old prevailed over Hungary’s Zalan Pekler (18), firing seven of his last eight shots into the 10th ring and sealing the victory with a great 10.7 on his second-to-last shot. Liu climbed on the highest step of the ISSF podium for the first time in his career, taking gold with 247.1 points, while Pekler — a first-time final participant in this event — concluded with 246.0.

The bronze medal went to India’s Arjun Babuta — silver medalist at last year’s Asian Championship in Wako City (JPN) — who secured the second Junior World Cup medal of his career after the bronze he won in Gabala (AZE) in 2016. The 19-year-old shooter took 3rd place with 226.3 points.

Liu’s teammates Zhang Changhong (18) and Fu Gangfeng (18) finished outside of the podium, respectively taking 4th place with 205.1 points and 7th place with 141.5, while 5th place was taken by Singapore’s Mohamad Irwan Abdul Rahman with 183.6 points.

Two more Indian shooters finished in 6th and 8th position respectively: indeed, first-time participant Surya Pratap Singh (16) left the match after shot number 12 with 119.4 points, followed four shots later by 16-year-old Shahu Tushar Mane, who signed off with 161.7 points.